HOW TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN THE LORD
1st Samuel 30:1-6 (key verse 6)
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Have you ever had a bad day? How about a bad week? Maybe even a bad year?
Jesus tells us that in this life, we will have bad days.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
And in Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble
(illustration) A new preacher had just started preaching in this church. He had been there two weeks. After preaching his third sermon, he was standing at the door greeting people as they left. One older gentleman, came by and looked up and said "that is the worst sermon I have ever heard" The old man, then turned abound and went back in, and got in line again. When he came by the preacher, he said " that sermon is even worse than last weeks. The new preacher felt kind of hurt, so he asked someone who the old man was. One man said " aw, don't worry about that old man, he is losing his memory. He just goes around repeating what he has heard others say.
That preacher was having a pretty rough day.
We all have days like that.
Maybe you wake up with flat tire. Maybe you get your pink slip from work. Maybe you have trouble paying your bills.
Remember that we are not alone. The bible gives us some good examples of people going through hardships.
Moses, never got to see the promised land, and had to wonder in the wilderness for 40 years.
Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery.
Now, in our text, we see David going through some really hard times.
David had it all, power, fame, wealth. King Saul, was jealous of him, because when David killed Goliath, and came back, the people in the village were dancing and praising David. King Saul had been trying to kill David, and David was running from him , while hiding in a cave. In the text , David and his men had been off to battle, and having returned , they found the city burned, their wives and children captured, and to top that off, his men were speaking of stoning him. Now that is what I call having a bad day.
But what did David do? The bible says in verse 6, that he encouraged himself in the Lord. One translation says that he strengthened himself in the lord.
What did David do first? He and his men wept.
It is okay to weep, and cry out to the Lord.
It is okay to feel sorry for ourselves for a little while, and go through grieving process.
But then, we need to pick ourselves up. We can't wait around feeling sorry for ourselves, waiting for someone to send us a hallmark card. Sometimes we just have to encourage ourselves in the Lord our God.
We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves..
(illustration) A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' -or-whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened ...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back ... a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!
It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. If we face our problems, respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us.
May God bless us this week as we, "shake off the shackles and step up out of the wells" in which we find ourselves! "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." - Phil. 4:13
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Let's look at 4 things that David did , and we can do to encourage ourselves in the Lord.
1. TAKE IT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER
1st Samuel 30:8 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
David called upon the Lord, in prayer, asking Him what to do.
Remember God's promises to us.
No weapon formed against thee shall prosper.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not evil, to give you and expected end.
Just remeber , that God will be with you through it all.
Like the song goes, "through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God.
Someone once said, that if God brings you to it, He see you through it.
2. TELL YOUR PROBLEM TO SOMEONE WHO CAN DO SOMETING ABOUT IT.
Psalm 142:2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
He told the Lord what his problem was.
He didn't write a letter to dear Abby, or Ann Landers.
He didn't go to Buddah, he poured out his heart to the Lord.
When I have hurts, and fears, I want to go to my living God, not some little man made statue.
(illustration) Many years ago there was a young woman by the name of Gladys Alyward who desired to be a missionary to China. Though her motives were pure and her desire worthy, she received little encouragement along the way. Finally after many years or hard work and struggle she raised enough money to pay her own way to China and begin her journey of serving God.
Even in China her years of service were not easy. Perhaps many would have given up, but Gladys wanted to serve her Lord and so she persevered. Yet the many years of hardship and struggle had its toll.
Once it became necessary for Gladys to lead a group of orphans over a range of mountains in order to find safety. After many fatiguing days and toilsome nights, Gladys found herself in despair. Just then a little thirteen-year-old girl spoke up and reminded Gladys of the story of Moses leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. “But I’m not Moses!” Gladys cried back. “Of course you’re not,” the girl said, “but Jehovah is still God.” What a truth!
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Ex 3:13-14 KJV)
3. STAY FOCUSED ON GOD
Psalm 57:1-5 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
Keep your focus on Jesus, not your problems.
When Peter and the some of the other disciples, saw Jesus walking on water, some thought Jesus was a ghost, and they were afraid. But Peter said " Lord, if it be you, bid me to come to you. Jesus said " come ahead" As Peter stepped out into the water, he walked a few steps, then began to look around at the turbulant sea, and lost his focus, and began to sink. He said " Lord, save me" Jesus reached out and pulled him up.
We should keep our focus on Jesus, and not our problem.
THE FOURTH, AND LAST THING WE SHOUD DO, IS WORSHIP GOD REGUARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
We should bless the Lord, at all times, good times, bad times, and all the time.
In closing, remember this scripture, and I am sure it will help you get through troubled times.
Hab.3:17-18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation
When Paul and Silas were in prison, the bible said, that they sang, and prayed, and an earthquake came and the gates to their cells flew open. This tells me, that praise , and prayer = deliverance.
Remember Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me
